JULIAN Clary visited Meadowpark School in Cricklade, where his sister, Bev Millin, is a teacher.

There he read from his book for children, The Bolds, which is about two hyenas, Spot and Sue, who inadvertently end up posing as a human couple in suburban Teddington.

Julian told his young audience: “I wrote this story because when Mrs Millin and I were growing up on a street just like the one here there was a family with a lot of hair. As a boy I used to watch them and wonder if they were animals in disguise. I have always thought that animals are just as clever as humans.”